


After Malachor

by Iva1201



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Lives, Darth Vader Redemption, Episode: s02e21-22 Twilight of the Apprentice, Fix-It, Gen, Healing, Imprisonment, Malachor, Malachor AU, Post-Episode: s02e21-22 Twilight of the Apprentice, Two Different Timelines, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-01 20:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13302144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iva1201/pseuds/Iva1201
Summary: Two-shot. Vader is injured at Malachor and gets captured by his former apprentice. Things change because of that.





	1. Chapter 1

The man who stands in front of his door once he opens it to the tentative knock wears a long brownish cape with a hood that fully obscures his face. He cannot feel him within the Force more than any other common person and he also does not perceive any danger coming from him – so when the stranger collapses in a brown heap at his threshold with a soft “I am sorry.“ he does not expect anyone else than a random exhausted or ill traveler passing through the Jundland Wastes – for whatever reason.

Here at Tatooine people rarely ask questions; a fact that has served him more than well so far. He knows he will also not demand to know more than what the stranger wants to share with him – once he is up to talk. For now, he will simply help him inside his meagre home, lend him his bed and provide refreshment.

He truly does not need to learn anything else about the man than that he is no danger to him and his cause. It’s nice, however, to see that the man is polite enough to excuse himself for his somewhat dramatic entry to his sanctuary. Yes, they will be able to deal with each other friendly enough – no matter what the man might have done to make him wander this lost end of the Galaxy and even more hidden desert landscape of this edge of Tatooine. Or so he thinks anyway…

ooooo

_"I won't leave you! Not this time," she said as he had finally seemed to suppress some of the darkness in him for a brief moment and call her by her name – his voice filled with anguish rather than hatred for a change. It was still a long way to the fond addresses he used to have for her years ago when she was his apprentice and the world was still more or less alright, the war and all the fighting disregarded – but she could now see a ray of hope where prior to that single word there had been nothing but impenetrable darkness._

_But as suddenly as the glimmer of the light appeared, so fast it was gone again - the moment of clarity gone, he turned against her once more and proclaimed in his hardened voice as he ignited his red lightsaber yet again: "Then you will die."_

_They fought again, the three lightsabers clashing viciously against each other while the ancient Sith Temple continued to collapse around them – and indeed on them. The debris almost hit her more than once – and he too had to search his way around the falling wreckage as they continued to fight – for life and death as it seemed. But she would spare him, she thought – if only he would see a bit of reason again. And then she got her chance – a large piece of the rubble broke off from the structure of the Temple and was about to hit her. In another lifetime, she would be dead and he lost once more. But not this time, not if she had her way – she used the Force to hold the wreckage off, hanging in the air just above them, and danced around him, distracting him with the fast moves of her sabers. Once he was positioned favorably, she released her grip on the collapsing stones. They hit him straight in his helmet – and knocked him out, as she had hoped, while not killing or truly seriously harming him. With a relieved sigh she relinquished her lightsabers, pocketed them and dragged his unconscious body out of the Temple. The red sabre was left behind – and she frankly did not care to retrieve it._

ooooo

He drags the collapsed man inside of his hut and puts him on his bed, noticing he lost consciousness by now. As he disrobes him out of his outer clothes, so that he can look for the possible injures, he notices a few things he does not like to see as they remind him entirely too much of the happenings in his past he does not like to recall.

The man’s limbs are all made of durasteel rather than formed out of flesh and blood for one – for the other he is terribly scarred, at least his back and head is, as far as he can see – he has yet to turn him around to see his face and the front. And finally, the thing that worries him the most – there are Force cuffs around the man’s wrists. Is he Force sensitive? Then why did he opt to wear them – for they do not seem to be forced on him? Why would one willingly separate themselves from the Force? He does not know – and the lack of answers troubles him. Perhaps he will find out once he sees the man’s face, he thinks.

ooooo

_“Good, you are finally awake. We were starting to worry.” A female voice he thought he ought to know said somewhere close to him, but he couldn’t feel the presence of the other person in the Force – a thing that worried him, but he refused to show it. He blinked his eyes against the darkness surrounding him – and finally could make an outline of a person with montrals on their head._

_“You,” he croaked; his voice parched._

_“Yes, me,” she confirmed. Then she approached his bed, helped him to sit and took a glass of water from someone behind her, fully obscured in the shadows. “Drink,” she said, and then added: “Slowly, or you will make yourself sick.”_

_He obeyed, thirsty beyond belief. The glass was half empty when it occurred to him – other than not being able to feel the Force, he also was not wearing his helmet – and yet he was able to breath._

_“How?” he motioned towards his head and chest._

_“It’s likely not going to last,” she shrugged her shoulders. “But I had to heal the head injury, so I made a look at your lungs too. A shame those who took care of you previously did not do it much earlier – but perhaps they needed you to remain as you were. Go back to sleep now, you need it.”_

_And with that she and her mysterious companion were gone and with them also the light. He heard a metal door closing – and being secured behind them._

_Now it was only him once more – him, thinking clearer than he had in years – despite still recovering from his latest injury, the missing Force and food for thoughts left behind by the few words she saw fit to say to him._

ooooo

He turns the man around so that he lies on his back now and looks at his face. Yes, it is as scarred as the rest of the stranger’s body – and one of those scars is entirely too familiar, painfully well-known, cutting across the man’s eye and eyebrow. He has not seen this face for a long time – and truly, he has also not hoped to see it again, rather than agonized beyond belief in his dreams – or rather nightmares.

“This is not real,” he whispers and looks away, his eyes full of unshed tears and forcefully suppressed pain. “This cannot be real.”

And then he feels it – the durasteel hand of his mysterious visitor closes around his wrist, ever so gently – and the man on the bed softly tucks at his hand. “Look at me, please,” he requests quietly, as if ashamed of himself – and yet needing his host to see his face for whatever reason, likely to mock and laugh at him, prior to imprisoning or killing him – if the stranger indeed is who he believes him to be. 

ooooo

_He could say he had indeed injured his head badly – for just after a moment his thoughts started to wander and then he was fast asleep again._

_It was much the same for the next few days – she would come, give him something to drink, feed him or see to his other bodily needs – some of which he preferred not to dwell on for too long. Then she would say something, a small thing indeed most of the time, but still something that made him wonder why things did not improve or change for the better earlier – leaving him afterwards to his dark room, or more likely cell, and his sluggish thoughts._

_His brain was recovering slowly, but he was not particularly worried about his treatment – for he knew she was safe and that was enough for him for the time-being. They continued the same routine until he finally started to feel better – and demanded answers._

ooooo

He turns his eyes to his visitor’s face almost unwillingly, not wanting for his bubble of peace to end so abruptly – but he is glad, no, cross it – overjoyed indeed, that he looked once his eyes take in the gaze of his companion. Where he expected a yellow hateful glare, a mild, light blue gaze is meeting him instead – the eyes of his former friend full of regret, shame and tentative hope.

“I am sorry,” the man repeats the words he entered his home with – and his host knows he can trust him to be sincere. It takes an enormous weight off of his shoulders. He reaches down to his past friend, grasps him around his shoulders and pulls him up in a tight embrace. Then he cries – but he has never been happier.

ooooo

_She knew things had changed once she found him sitting on his bed one morning, almost fully recovered. He looked at her with disdain and demanded: “Explain at once!”_

_She returned his gaze with the same determination – but she was above excusing herself. What if she had kidnapped him and held him a prisoner? He had done far worse to far many more people. “You were injured and would have died beneath the debris of the Temple if I did not do anything. I saved your life. I promised I would not leave you again, remember? I do not intend to break my word; no matter what it takes.”_

_He frowned at her, his eyes flashing angry yellow – instead of the tentative blue from the time of his injury that had brought so much hope to her. Apparently it had been misplaced._

_“Your assistance is not requested, nor needed,” he hissed. “Nevertheless, if you have changed your mind and want to join me in the Dark Side of the Force, the offer is still valid.”_

_She shook her head. “My answer remains the same. I will not turn.” With that she turned back to the door. Before he could react, she was out of it and the door was firmly locked behind her._

_Without the Force, without any weapon to use and without access to the ship's machinery, he was not able to open the heavy metal door and follow her – remaining her captive for the time-being. He raged for a while, upset at his situation – but strangely, the anger did not last as he was accustomed to from the last years – and he also could not really hate her. Once his fury died down and he got bored plotting the possible ways of his escape, he pondered why he felt so much calmer – and realized the currently missing connection to the Emperor. For a moment he felt uncertain because of it – and then he smiled, relieved and feeling free despite his present imprisonment – for his thoughts and feelings truly belonged to him again. If for nothing else, he was thankful to the adult version of his apprentice for that._

ooooo


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The text of this part is still the same. I just fixed some grammar - hence the repost.

They continue to cry and hold each other for a long while. Once their tears are spent, they let go of each other tentatively – looking at one another with curiosity.

The older man speaks first: “This is unexpected. But very welcome.”

His younger companion nods. “I know. I did not expect it myself,” he admits softly.

“Then how?” the other man wonders.

His counterpart laughs quietly: “Believe it or not, I got caught, imprisoned and my jailor saw it fit to place me in a dark cell where I could not reach the Force. It was just me, the darkness and my thoughts. Not pleasant, trust me, especially once I started to realize what all I had lost and why – and how much Sidious was influencing me. No, I rephrase, enslaving me.”

“It could not have been so easy…” the older man murmurs, disbelievingly. Apparently, those words were not meant to be said aloud. But the other man still reacts to them.

“It was not easy,” he admits. “It also did not happen overnight.”

The older man nods. “How long?” he asks.

“A few months, give or take…”

ooooo

_For a few days now, she did not make any attempt at contacting him. Three times a day, food and fresh water appeared in the small window in the middle of his door; his other needs covered by a sanitary box substituting for a toilet and a shower placed in the corner of the cell. His cell was now weakly lightened for the day time – or for what he considered the day time anyway – but other than that nothing had really changed._

_She used to come daily, bringing one of his meals – but never again entering his cell, speaking to him from behind the locked door. At times she recalled their common service, speaking warmly of the long past and yet clearly still fondly remembered times, but usually she made only a few remarks about the present state of the Galaxy – and his and the Emperor’s role in it. With nothing else to do and no other impulses, he found himself more and more often thinking about her words – and, strangely, he was becoming more and more unsure about his ways since the end of the Clone Wars._

_Was she brainwashing him? No, he thought, she did not have it in her. Rather, once he was out of Sidious’s reach, he started to regain parts of himself he had thought long lost. The question remained what would happen once he would get out of here – if ever. Being completely sincere with himself, he started to almost wish she would keep him locked up indefinitely – for then he would not be able to bring any more harm to her, himself or indeed the whole Galaxy._

_But the Force had apparently other plans with him yet again…_

ooooo

The younger man finishes his recounting of the recent past and the older man gives a soft smile.

“She has always been a clever one – and very fond of you,” he says. “I am glad she did not lose hope as I did.”

“Me too,” the younger man agrees. “Otherwise I would still be lost.”

ooooo

_Another morning came and with it his meal, a glass of water – and, strangely, a pair of Force cuffs. Instead of her face, another familiar head appeared in the small window – and the man they had both fought side by side with years ago looked him curiously up and down._

_“She is gone, isn’t she?” the captive man wondered, after so many days of uncertainty, and hanged his head in surprising sadness over her loss._

_The man behind the small opening in his door nodded. “Yes, she disappeared two weeks ago. We do not know if she got caught, injured or if she is possibly dead. If you are willing to help us search for her, I will let you out now – provided you are prepared to wear those Force cuffs until we are absolutely sure you are on our side.”_

_“You are not afraid I would betray you?” The words escaped him quite unwillingly._

_The other man scratched his chin thoughtfully and then gave him a small smile. “She said you felt almost right the last time she spoke with you. I have to trust her feelings. I have always trusted my Jetii – if they were of their right mind anyway. And I think you may indeed really be yourself or almost yourself now again – otherwise you would not ask things like that and would not be so worried for her.”_

_He did not know what else to say than to offer a whispered “Thank you.” and willingly clasp the Force cuffs around his wrists. They would remain in place until she was back with them – or he would find another Jedi who had survived the Purges – for only another Force user was able to unlock them. Frankly, he was not worried about that – he found himself worrying only about her fate at present and that made him more than sure that he was on the right path again._

ooooo

“This is our new mission then?” the older man wonders.

“If you agree to come and search for her with me, then yes, that will be our new mission. But I am not forcing you to come – I just wanted to let you know I was on your side again before I went after her myself.” The younger man admits.

His companion nods. “And I am very glad for that.”

He takes a moment to think the situation over – someone would need to guard the boy in the meantime, but yes, it could be arranged. And if his former student manages to stay in the Light during this latest mission – then he will have the great pleasure to introduce him to his young son once it is over.

“Yes, I will join you, Anakin Skywalker,” he says, smiling gratefully that he can once more call his companion by that name. “And if the Force is with us, we will save Ahsoka from whatever peril she got herself into. I am also very much looking forward to meet Rex again – it will be almost like in the old times…”

“I am sorry that so many things cannot be changed for the better any longer,” Anakin sighs, deep regret overcoming him for a moment. “But thank you for being here for me again. I promise to value it better this time, Master Kenobi.”

“You know you can call me Obi-Wan, Anakin. But now let me pack – so that we can be on our way as soon as possible.”

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

> Work inspired by following stories featuring Vader (or possibly an older and wiser Anakin) and Ahsoka here at AO3:  
>  **“Follow A Guide to Find a Teacher”** by Merfilly;  
>  **“once you start down the dark path (forever will it dominate your destiny)”**  
>  and  
>  **“forgiveness (can you imagine?)”** by Sanna_Black_Slytherin;  
>  as well as **“Black Mirror”** by DarthNickels  
>  and  
>  **“Time, Will, and the Force (Or Fulcrum is Done With This)”** by ilyena_sylph and Merfilly.
> 
> On Fanfiction.net:  
>  **“And So We Must Live"** by Dr. Emma Hamish Winchester.
> 
> I did my very best to work with the switching timelines - but if you spot a present tense in the retelling of the past or the past tense in the retelling of the present, please, let me know and I will fix it.
> 
>  
> 
> **Remember to leave a comment, please!**


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